NTC fighters close in on Sirte

Oct. 16 - National Transitional Council fighters prepare to advance on Sirte's al-Dollar district, still in control of pro-Gaddafi forces. Rough Cut (no reporter narration)

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

Rough Cut (no reporter narration)
STORY: Street warfare broke out in downtown Sirte on Sunday (October 16) for the third day in a row between opposition fighters and pro-Gaddafi forces around the al-Dollar residential district.
As National Transitional Council fighters kept up a continual barrage of RPG and anti-aircraft fire, one commander accused the pro-Gaddafi fighters of using women and children who live in the area as human shields.
Convoys of tanks and other military vehicles could be seen driving in to Sirte as Abu Zied said they would enter al-Dollar later in the day.
NTC militia have besieged Sirte for weeks, only slowly tightening their grip to the point where now Gaddafi die-hards are surrounded in an area of about two sq km (a sq mile). Green flags, the banner of Gaddafi's rule, still fly over the area.
However there is little sign yet of a major push under way from the NTC infantry to completely take the politically strategic town.
The often chaotic struggle has cost scores of lives and left thousands homeless.

French President Emmanuel Macron heads into the summer break faced with falling popularity ratings after tough debates in parliament over labour reform and a public ethics law, a standoff with the military and cuts to housing assistance

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: